I'm not who I should be
by CryingDoves
Summary: Trowa must embark on yet another mission as a possible new threat emerges. With him, a young girl who not only challenges his patience, but also who he believes himself to be as a person. Comedramorance :D
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Crying Doves here, this story has only been re-formatted (with an update chapter wise) because I noticed how friggin' short I made the chapters before, and decided to change that. I don't know what I was thinking when I started publishing it, but I've changed that now anyways, so t'is forgotten!**

**I do not own GW, except for the idea for this fanfic and all the non GW characters...obviously (is ti really necessary to write this stupid thing?)**

**Also, please write in any comments - unless it's just an 'I hate your story' comment. If however, you give some constructive criticism with that 'I hate your story' comment, then by all means: Flame Away! ;)**

**///**

Steam hissed its way out of the tiny metal holes within the engines capsule, relieving the heavy piece of machinery of the dangerous pressure. Outside the engine's cabin room, there was empty space. The carrier shuttle was not transporting anything tonight, except perhaps the two people who were sitting quietly in the control room.

"I'm not who I should be." The words came from the young man, solemn, quiet words that befitted his demeanour. The girl glanced over at him, observed how he faced the stars outside, but was somewhere completely different. The hidden sadness of his lost identity poked through the surface, invoking the empathetic nature of the blonde.

"In due time Trowa, you'll find your way."

The words surprised him. In his time of getting to know the girl, he had never been struck with the notion that she might actually have a brain. Though her behaviour back at the base had struck not only him as odd. She had at times been completely overbearing, as though someone had slipped mass amounts of sugar into her food and water. She had also had episodes where she'd totally disregard what she was being told, and had even snapped at Heero and Wufei. However, there was yet another side of this odd blonde, the side that could hole herself in her room for hours on end and would say hardly a word, even less than Trowa himself. The only time she ever seemed to be happy was when she was with her friend, who had also become hopelessly entangled within the boys' messy business.

For those reasons, he had found it extremely difficult to categorize the kind of person she was, and in being incapable of doing so, he was having a hard time figuring out how to approach her. Quatre had been the only helpful one in noticing that she seemed to be a somewhat extreme person, starting at one end of an emotion and ending at another, depending on her surroundings and situations.

_ Seems about right_, he thought, watching _her_ now.

Noticing his stare she blinked. "Sorry…Did I say something wrong? It sounded alright to me." She gave him a small grin, the first outward sign of friendship towards him since they had met.

"No, it was fine." He paused a moment. "You're right you know. We all find our way eventually, even if it takes a life time."

She laughed sarcastically. "Yeah, as long as you know _who_ you're supposed to be."

"You don't know…who you are at all?"

Giving him a sly grin she repeated his own words. "I'm not who I should be." Then she added a few of her own. "I'm not who I want to be, and I'm NOT," She gave him a look, "who others think I am."

"Then, you are-"

"Insignificant until I find my purpose in this world and accept it."

Surprised, Trowa remained quiet. He would have thought someone who had grown up in an environment like hers would have a clearer idea of who she was than he himself would.

"You're thinking, how can she not know, right?"

"Sometimes, you scare me."

"Me scaring you, scares me right back."

**///**

Four hours later, Trowa was busying himself with the controls, flipping switches and pressing buttons. All of which made sure the shuttle was heading in the right direction. It also gave Trowa a chance to check and make sure no one was following them.

_ So far so good…I wonder where Alexandra went off too? I better check. I don't think I trust her wandering around the shuttle on her own._ He pressed one last button, putting the spacecraft on autopilot, and then dragged himself out of the seat.

He didn't have to go far before he heard some tinkering and what sounded like quiet humming come from the small supply closet right to the left of the control room door. She appeared to be in the process of making tea for the two of them, the small kettle was already steaming.

"Alexandra wou-"

"YEEAA!" The kettle fell from her hands as she spun around in surprise. Luckily, Trowa had caught it before the hot water decided to spill over them both.

Alexandra stood there taking in a deep breath, glaring at him. "What the hell are you doing? You can't just sneak up on people! _Especially_ when they have hot water in their hands!" He allowed her to finish her rant, which, he supposed, she was allowed to have, under the circumstances.

"I was just going to ask if you'd like some help." He said calmly, setting the kettle down on the counter. She eyed the stainless steel device.

"Sorry-thanks-I mean…Yeah." She suddenly became flustered and turned her back to him, pulling down the can that held standard Earl Grey tea.

"Having you get burned by hot water wouldn't help the mission." He said, walking behind her and grabbing the can from her hands before it opened and there were tea bags everywhere.

_ And here I thought I was tall_, Alexandra thought, looking up at him for, oddly enough, the first time. Trowa was rather surprised too, she had always kept her distance from all of the boys, and so none of them had ever really gotten a good look at her before.

"Uh, well, I guess we should use the water before it gets cold!" She suddenly scrambled away from him towards some open space.

Trowa disregarded the sudden rejection and opened up the tin can instead.

"Huh, I don't think we'll be having tea tonight."

"What?" Her brows knitted together.

Trowa tipped the can down to show her the inside. Empty.

"Oooh, I'm so hungry too." She faked a pained face as she held her stomach.

"Just drink the water when it cools down then, we'll be there soon enough." And with that he put the can back where it belonged and walked past her towards the control room.

"There wouldn't happen to be a drive through McDonald's around here would there?" Her question sounded so sincere he chuckled.

"What? I was being serious! Hey, get back here you!" She ran in after him.


	2. Chapter 2

"W-Wow, it's beautiful!" Alexandra exclaimed as she gazed out the front windows towards the giant blue and white sphere before them. "Oh wow, there's North America! And Asia! This is so cool!" She would have jumped out of her seat to press her nose against the glass if Trowa hadn't pushed her back. He smiled a little at her, enjoying her fresh enthusiasm at seeing Earth for the first time, but now wasn't the time to enjoy it.

"Sit back and put on your seat belt, it'll be rough when we go through the atmosphere, especially since this shuttle isn't meant to go to earth in the first place."

Ignoring the last part of his comment she pulled the heavy belt over her head and buckled it into the clasp that was attached to the belt that went across her lap. Feeling somewhat secure she turned her eyes back in front of her.

"It'll be over quickly enough." He assured her, once again moving his hands over the controls effortlessly.

"Tell me again where we're going?" She asked, wanting to keep her mind off the increasingly bumpy ride.

"Japan. Heero has a reliable friend there. I think she owns a hot spring, we can stay there safely for a few days before continuing on to China."

Alex attempted a cheery disposition on the whole matter. "Well, the hot springs sound nice -_-"."

**One hour later**

"Uhh, I'm never riding by carrier shuttle again." Alex grumbled, blowing some of her blonde hair out of her face.

"At least we hardly have any luggage to carry around." Trowa muttered, swinging a stuffed duffel bag over his shoulder. He glanced back at the ship. Unfortunately, since they didn't have the permit to land at an actual spaceport, Trowa had had to manoeuvre the craft into an open field a few odd hours away from civilization. Another down side to this plan was that they would be unable to re-use the ship.

"I guess we won't be flying in that thing no more." Alex said, observing the damaged ship. "Personally though, I prefer being on solid ground anyways. So where do we go from here?"

"Do you see those houses down there?" He pointed west.

"Nope, need my glasses for that."

He was a little bewildered. "You have glasses?"

"Yeah, but anyways we're going that way then right, let's get going, I want to eat."

"Wait a minute." He grabbed the back of her shirt, making her gag slightly. "You not being able to see can compromise this mission." He stared down at her, his eyes never wavering, until she grinned up at him of course.

"No worries!" She pointed a finger at her face. "Quatre knew about it, he set me up with some contacts, I'm just not wearing them right now." When Trowa seemed unconvinced she huffed. "They give me twenty-twenty vision okay? Now lets go! The hot springs await!"

He let go slowly. "As long as you wear them when I tell you too."

"Yes, okay, can we go now?" She was really becoming impatient and annoyed with him. When he FINALLY let go of her shirt she set out on their trek towards the small village off in the distance. Confident in herself, she led the way.

"Alexandra?" Trowa almost sweat dropped.

"Yeah?"

"You're going the wrong way."

**///**

The first sign of a building was the top of a curved roof, peaking over the crest of the steep hill the two young travelers were currently hiking up. It had, as Trowa had speculated earlier, taken them about two hours to reach their destination from the fallen ship. Two hours and fifty-nine minutes to be exact. He hadn't counted on the villagers of the small town below to become so interested in the pair. Apparently their tall figures and green eyes stirred some curiosity within the town folk, especially the children. Not to mention Alexandra's hair, which may not have been blonde by North American standards, but it was definitely different from anything Japanese.

_ Heero got us a good location, secluded and quiet. We should be able to stay here for a while without rushing._ Trowa glanced back at Alexandra who was at the moment huffing out a breath of annoyance and exhaustion. A glimmer of sympathy sparked in Trowa, but it was over powered by the thought of how useless this girl would be. _She has no military training of any kind; she's not mechanical at all. She probably hasn't even held a gun before._ The only reason she had indeed been chosen for this mission was because one: having someone no one within the military world would recognize would prove useful in getting around and two: she wouldn't let her friend go.

That was something Trowa had actually admired about her. As soon as the mission had been relayed to the two girls, Alexandra had told her friend that there was no way she would be allowed to put her life in danger._ "I'm not letting you go Trina, you're actually getting somewhere in life. I won't let you walk right into a pit of pure danger." Katrina glared at her. "And you think I'll let you go instead!" Alexandra smiled sympathetically then plastered a grin across her face. "C'mon Trina, I've always wanted to do something useful in life, now is my chance. Heck, I could become famous!"_ Once her friend had reluctantly agreed, Alexandra had cheered and told her she'd go for some rest before the action would start. Trowa had caught the moment her smile had slipped from her face as she walked out the door. _She just wanted to protect her friend, she didn't think about herself at all._

Trowa looked back at her again. "What?" She asked, catching him gazing at her, with a hint of what appeared to be sadness. She frowned at him, but it turned to a glare as he nonchalantly raised an eyebrow at her and turned away. _How dare he just shrug me off like that! What a jerk, why did I agree to do this again?_ She marched up the hill and caught up behind him, about ready to grab his shoulder and begin her yelling, but her cries got caught in her throat as the view entered her eyes.

"W-w….wow…" She walked down a few paces, trying to get a better look. "This is…"

"Perfect." Trowa finished for her, now walking down ahead of her.

"Yeah, we definitely won't be found."

Trowa stopped and stared at her, hard. "I can admire the beauty of nature as much as anyone else." His words stung as he walked away. Alexandra lowered her head in shame, not realizing that a simple statement could affect him so much.


	3. Chapter 3

Alexandra sighed as she unpacked her small duffel bag. After her brief meeting with Madame Suzu, the very vibrant owner of the hot springs resort, she suddenly felt the weight of exhaustion fall upon her like lead. _It would be rude to just go to bed though, and I'm so hungry too._ Caught in the middle of a very important dilemma, she didn't hear Trowa slip into the room behind her. He watched her quietly, noticing the slurred movements of her body as she pulled clothes from her bag.

"You should rest." He announced suddenly, making the poor girl jump out of her skin.

"Ah, I wish I could, but I'm too hungry to sleep…but I'm too tired to eat." As though confirming what she had just said, her stomach growled loudly, bringing a red tint to her cheeks.

"I'll bring you some miso soup, Madame Suzu made some for us before we arrived, it's still hot." He left as quietly as he had come in, leaving Alexandra alone to think about the coming food. She could already feel the hot liquid warming her up from the inside out, could taste the broth on her tongue. There was even a delicious looking roll sitting there quietly, awaiting its turn to be eaten.

"I didn't know people eat bread with miso soup…" She muttered, rolling to her back and splaying herself halfway off the mat on the ground.

Trowa, who had returned, stood there somewhat amused as he held a hot cup of soup in one hand, watching Alexandra speak of food as she dreamt unknowingly. He placed the warm bowl on a low wooden table and walked over to his mission mate, looking straight down at her sleeping face. A sudden feeling he couldn't place swept over him. While staring at her mouth, a jolt of electricity had run through his stomach and he felt the desire to touch her.

He sat down beside her, quietly contemplating his new physical need. He found it odd that now he was feeling anything at all for the girl, when just hours before he hadn't even considered her to be of the female species (in the sense that he hadn't found her sexually appealing). Perhaps, he thought, he placed far too much focus on his duty to ever notice anything or anyone else, to create relationships with people who weren't directly connected to his work. He had, after all, never had a girlfriend, although it wasn't necessary to have a relationship of any kind with someone you slept with.

A slight grin showed at the corners of his well-shaped mouth. Yes, you most certainly did not need to have any sort of feelings for someone you shared a bed with; you could even hate them with all your being and still quench the physical needs of the human body._ And yet that is all it does, fulfill physical desires, not emotional ones._

"Mmm I really like hamburgers with cheese…wouldn't that just be a cheeseburger? I like those too…" Alexandra mumbled, turning onto her side and curling herself up against Trowa's warm body. Trowa stiffened, surprised by her sudden movement, and for the second time, a shock of electricity ran through his body.

He carefully pushed the blonde away from him and back onto the mat, where she snuggled under the covers as he laid them on top of her. Taking one last look at her, he slipped out of the room, sliding the paper door shut with a quiet click.

"Sleeping already?" Madame Suzu angled her head at the young man, her hands clasped neatly in front of her.

Trowa stepped back from the doors and turned to the owner of the house. "Yeah, she seems to have worn herself out."

Madame Suzu walked up past Trowa, who fell into step beside her. "Well, it's only natural. You tell me she has no training what so ever when it comes to these matters. I hate to ask, but I have to wonder why she was even chosen to go along with you? Wouldn't someone more…qualified suit the job better? Won't it be extremely dangerous for her to even know about this?"

"It was really…an accident that her and her friend got tangled up in our business. If that hadn't have happened, they would both be back at their homes, living life as normally as possible with the new war starting. And we decided to take one on this mission because she is not recognizable to the military parties, unlike myself who could be detected quite easily by the right people."

"It's also safer having your group split up isn't it?" She glanced at Trowa who nodded solemnly.

"It appears you have been in contact with Heero recently." He stated, asking without ever asking how she had managed it, and where he would be able to do the same.

Madame Suzu smiled. "Ah yes, I do have a few trinkets I like to collect within the storage house in the back. I can show you if you'd like." And she led him through the rectangular house out to the back, where a room buzzed with electricity from the mounds of high tech. Equipment stacked inside of it.

Trowa had to give the woman props. She knew how to shop.

**///**

It was raining. That was the first thought that came to Alexandra's head as her eyes fluttered open, and her mind came back to consciousness. She could hear the drops of clear water hit the roof of the house, the bushes and trees outside. The familiar sound calmed her nerves, bringing back memories of home. She blinked a few times, trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness that had taken over.

Rolling over she dragged herself off of the mat, out of the covers and shivering, headed to the door._ Okay, where do I go from here? Left or right? Left or right?_ She turned left and walked down the hallway, carefully trying to avoid a collision with any kind of object that would just happen to be in her way. It didn't work.

As she rounded a corner, something hard bashed into her outstretched hands and pushed up against her. She almost screamed aloud, but a pair of arms had wrapped around her instinctively, muffling the sound that came from her mouth.

"We don't need you waking up the whole house." A voice murmured. Trowa felt Alexandra relax in his arms as she recognized his voice. He slowly released her from his hold.

"I wouldn't have screamed had you approached me like a NORMAL person!" She hissed as she pulled herself away from him. The movement affected Trowa more than he had anticipated, but it wasn't intended as a sign of rejection, just as a sign of anger and hunger. A deadly combination when placed within that particular woman.

She stomped off down the direction she had been going, peeking into open rooms for something that resembled a kitchen.

"If you're hungry, I can take you to get some food." Trowa said quietly from her side. He had followed her diligently; afraid she would make a ruckus and wake up Madame Suzu. Alexandra heaved a heavy sigh, her shoulders falling. "Alright. I'm just so hungry…and I've got no clue as to where I am going. This house is like a freakin' maze!"

After a few minutes of silent walking, Alexandra close behind Trowa to make sure she didn't walk into anything, they found the large kitchen, comfortably quiet and empty. The young woman walked in, dragging her hand across the cool surface of the counters, looking about in wonder. Then she turned to Trowa, her eyes filled with tears. "It's…so beautiful-" And she sniffled loudly as her stomach grumbled. Trowa chuckled, unable to contain his amusement. She cocked her head to the side.

"My, my, is that a _smile_ I see on your face Trowa?" Her own smile held kindness and he had to wonder why she was suddenly treating him like a child. He placed his left hand on the marble counter and rested against it.

"You are a strange girl." He stated, examining her as she stuffed an apple into her small mouth.

She chewed, deciding to be polite against her will. "First of all, I am not a _girl_. Second of all, what _ever_ gave you the impression that I was strange? I recall nothing in the past that would have given _that_ away." She took another bite of the red apple, waiting for Trowa's response patiently.

He lowered his head as another smile formed over his mouth. "My mistake," He looked back up at her, meeting her eyes. "you are not a _girl_… but I can't say I'd call you a mature woman yet eith- Hey!" His hands rose instinctively to protect his face as a half eaten apple cam flying his way. It flew over his head and smashed against the wall.

"Oops… Guess I threw that a little TOO hard eh?" Her eyes had widened as she realised she had pretty much just defiled Madame Suzu's kitchen wall. Something told Alexandra that that woman would not be too happy about it if she ever found out.

Trowa had glanced back behind him after eyeing Alexandra warily. "I won't throw anything again, I promise. Scouts honour." She showed her palm and placed a cheeky grin across her face. Trowa's green eyes narrowed.

"You were never a scout."

Her lips pursed as she huffed. "How do YOU know? I could have been anything before we met."

"I know scouts are for BOYS, and they definitely wouldn't let YOU in of all people."

"That's it, I take back my faulty promise!" This time she grabbed an orange from the fruit bowl and hurled it will all her might. A small explosion occurred on the other side of the room. Trowa looked more astonished than anything.

"What are you trying to do woman?! Kill me? And with an ORANGE no less?!!" His shouts surprised her, giving him the opportunity to run over to her side of the counter and catch her, but she had registered his movements seconds before he had her in his reach. She scrambled away, almost slipping on the floor with her socks. Trowa followed quickly behind her, this time brushing the back of her shirt with his fingers before she managed to escape him again.

"Will you just HOLD STILL!!" He yelled, emitting a laugh from the blonde. It soon turned to full-scale laughter as she continued to dodge his attacks. Eventually though, the laughter became her enemy as it slowed her progression, she stopped to lean against the island and clutched her sides. Trowa smirked as he saw his opportunity. Running up behind her, he came closer and closer to her huddled, shaking form. He stretched out his hands and made a grab for it.

Nothing. Not even a hair. _What the-?! Where did she go?_ He looked around in surprise, then almost, ALMOST sweatdropped as he spotted her figure through his peripheral vision. She had slumped down to the ground from all her laughter, unable to keep her body up any longer. She giggled as she sat, curled in a ball, beside the tall man looking down at her in wonder.

"Hahaha! You should see your f-face Trowa! It's p-priceless!" She held the back of her hand against her mouth as she looked up at him. Trowa could only stare.


	4. Chapter 4

"So let me get this straight," Alexandra stuffed a few thick Udon noodles into her mouth with the wooden chopsticks. She swallowed quickly. "We're going to leave for China in two days to sneak into the Christmas Banquet in Hong Kong…"

Trowa nodded, "Yes, because the banquet is being put on for all the high ranking officers of the New OA organisation. If we infiltrate it we can gather some vital information."

"They will most certainly discuss up coming… _events_ they have planned for the world. I assure you. The men at those parties are as arrogant as they come, they will be gloating all night about their ideas." Madame Suzu sighed in exasperation as she recollected some of the balls she'd been too. Cigarette smoke trickled from her mouth as she thought back to her younger days.

"How are we getting in though? Are we going to pretend to work at the party?" Alexandra asked, looking over pictures of the Hotel that would be used for the site. It was extravagant. The ceilings were high and arched with beautiful painted pictures of angels, the gold trim glinting in the yellow light. The floors were pristine cream coloured marble. The people caught walking in the snap shot wore expensive designer dresses and suits, one woman looked as though she had decided to roll herself in diamonds before heading out. She sparkled from head to toe.

"No, we're going as ourselves." Trowa replied, studying a blueprint for the main floor of the building.

Green eyes snapped up. "What? Ourselves? Isn't that just a bit _too_ revealing?"

"No. If they know who I am, they'll want me there. I know we've been worrying about being recognized. I was a Gundam Pilot after all. But Heero seems to think they would want to exploit my skill instead of just killing me straight off the bat."

_Well isn't THAT reassuring. _"And what about me? I'm just supposed to be your arm candy or something?"

Trowa shrugged "Pretty much." He glanced over at the beautiful dark haired woman who sat smoking beside him. "You're also going to have to…learn some etiquette."

A dark blonde eyebrow rose. "I didn't think I was that bad."

Trowa smiled a little at her. "We're not saying you don't have manners, it's more of a seductive etiquette. While I talk to people there, you're going to entertain the other male guests with your 'charm' and 'personality'."

_Do I detect sarcasm in his voice? He better not be implying anything._

Madame Suzu shook her head, took a long drag on her cigarette and gave Alexandra a dry look. "This poor boy here doesn't know how to explain anything. You're going to flirt with the men, and get them to tell you things. You'd be surprised how much they'll give away if you give them the time of day."

"I can see you've had some experience in this area."

The older woman smiled slowly. "Yes, and that is why for the next two days you're going to learn some very sneaky little tricks to making a man sweat."

Alexandra's face lit suddenly at the thought.

**///**

Trowa groaned and lay back on the mat with a thud. The papers in his lap scattered as he stretched his long legs. He let his eyes wander to the open sliding doors that opened up to the traditional Japanese Garden. A light sprinkle of water dripped onto the green plants as the sun squeezed its rays through the dispersing clouds. Perhaps later on he could go for a walk.

Another door opened quietly and light footsteps could be heard as they walked around Trowa's lying form. Alexandra sat down beside him and looked out to the Garden as well.

"It's pretty isn't it?"

"Yeah." He slid his eyes to now gaze at the girl who looked somewhat bored. Alexandra returned the stare then smiled out of the blue. He only raised an eyebrow.

"So, not that I don't enjoy your company… But why are you here?" He asked bluntly, sitting up.

She blinked. "Oh, uh… I don't really have a reason actually. I was going to ask you something about the mission, but I've forgotten." She gave him a large eyed, innocent smile. It wavered.

"What is it?"

Surprised that he noticed she fumbled for her words. "Well…uh…you see, it's not that I don't…uh…never mind, forget it. I don't want you thinking I'm an idiot."

She moved to get up, her legs unfolding themselves beneath her and propelling her upwards to stand over the young brunette. He sat up slowly, suddenly admiring the view, and made a decision.

"Lets go for a walk. Maybe it will relieve some tension."

"What tension?"

"You're already freaking out about the mission…" A small smile appeared, and it comforted her. "And what ever you have to ask, I won't think you're an idiot. I don't think you're an idiot."

She smiled in return and led the way out the door to the garden, the rain had stopped and the sun was shining.

**///**

Trowa walked slowly through the green foliage, his arms brushing against the leaves, dropping little crystals of water to the tiled ground where they exploded into a million more sparkling gems. He loved the serene quiet of nature just after a good rain, and he noticed he wasn't the only one.

Alexandra was busy breathing in the scent of wet dirt, plant, tile and air. She couldn't see Trowa watch her from across the path. She couldn't see the sudden intensity in his eyes as he contemplated his mission partner. She just couldn't see.

"AAH!" Flat on her butt the girl looked up at the chuckling man and glared. He raised his hands in defence.

"Hey, you're the one who shouldn't be walking with their eyes closed."

"Hmph! It's better then seeing your face!" She snapped as she dusted herself off, unfortunately some of the ground's grime refused to adhere to her hands earnest movements and stuck to her jeans happily. "Stupid dirt."

Trowa just smiled and cocked his head to the side. He was seriously beginning to enjoy this girl. She provided some much needed entertainment.

"So what were you going to ask me?" He shoved his hands into his pant pockets and began walking again.

"Well," She jogged after him to catch up. "I would really just like it if in detail you could…go over…the…whole mission?"

He stopped at turned to look at her. "You're kidding right? Did you not understand anything we went over earlier?"

Her brows furrowed. "See? This is why I didn't want to ask!" She looked up at him from behind her hurtful frown. Trowa averted his gaze quickly.

"I didn't mean anything by it and it's a good thing you asked me. We can't be partners if we can't communicate."

Alexandra huffed. "Look buster, I totally understood what you said okay? I am not an idiot! All I want is to go over the idea of the mission in complete detail! So that when the time comes to act I won't be standing around going 'Oh shit. Now what?' Got it?!"

"I already told you, I don't think you're an idiot. And yes, I got it."

An uncomfortable silence fell upon the pair and suddenly neither felt the need to break it. The girl's feet shifted, kicking up some wet dirt.

"Sorry."

"Come on, we'll go over it."


	5. Chapter 5

Blonde hair clung to pale skin as clear water ran down its surface, trailing along the cheek to the tip of a chin, and dropping. Alexandra sat quietly, rain pouring down onto her still form as she sat, drenched, on an old wooden bench. Her and Trowa had gone over the mission together in complete detail, mapping out any and every area that could be covered. He had answered all the questions that popped from her tired mouth, which surprised her, because she had asked a lot.

_Except for that one… How could I even ask him that anyways? One would think it would come with the job, but I just don't know if I can do that…_

Her head fell back and she closed her eyes, just feeling the rain hit her face. It almost hurt, but it took the thought from her mind. The mind which began to slip into a calming darkness; she breathed, and was gone.

A pair of emerald eyes caught sight of the form sitting limply on the bench and they widened slightly. Of all the places he had been looking, he never thought she'd wind up back here. Especially in the weather they were currently having.

He stepped through the bushes, from one path to another, and walked over. She was asleep so he sat down beside her. He turned his head. He looked. He watched. He almost touched, but his hand retreated from her slender fingers as they curled.

"Trowa…" Her eyelashes fluttered, straining against the water. They remained squinted as she struggled with herself to bring forth her fear.

"Are we…going to kill anyone?"

Trowa kept his face void of emotion as the question struck him. He leaned forward and gazed down at the two hands linked over his bent knees. A sudden image of the water running through his fingers turning red; blood stained hands, filled his eyes. He held back the urge to clamp them into each other, to wash them.

"We'll do what's necessary for the mission…" He turned his head back to look at her face, which was now gazing at him blankly, "but…if I can keep you from…I'll do my best to keep that from happening."

Her eyebrows dropped as she suddenly noticed the strained look in his eyes; the eyes of a man who told everything when the guard was let down. Placing a hand gently on his shoulder she unconsciously rubbed her thumb soothingly over his cold skin. And just as his eyes had done, hers told him how very sad she felt for him; that he had had to go through the war as but a child, taking the lives of people who were fathers, mothers, children, siblings…

Trowa wanted to look away, he felt he didn't need the sympathy of others, even when Catherine offered him the smallest of things he'd shut it out. But he couldn't. And so the two sat, facing one another, in the warm rain of spring.

**///**

"ACHOO!" The loud noise reverberated off of the car window and bounced back into the sneezers' face.

"That's what you get for sitting out in the rain for Buddha knows how long. What were you two thinking anyway? And right before your mission too?" Madame Suzu waved a cigarette around in one hand as she scolded the both of them, the other clutching the steering wheel somewhat loosely.

"Uhm…do you think maybe you could just…uh…keep your hands on…uhm…" Alexandra's voice faded quickly as the elder woman sent her one of the scariest looks she had ever received.

"I'll thank you not to judge my driving habits. Never had any run in with the cops- "

"Probably because you killed them all before they could give you a ticket." Alexandra muttered underneath her breath. Trowa's eyes slid over to her face and green captured green.

"-never had any complaints from the people in the village. I mean honestly, you can't even drive yet-"

"Okay! Okay! Sheesh, I'm sorry I offended you. Please forgive me oh honourable one." The blonde placed her hands together in prayer format and did a small bow. After a nod of approval from Madame Suzu she made a small frown at her back and stuck out her tongue.

Trowa stacked a pile of papers over his thighs and pushed them neatly into a black folder, placing the folder into a briefcase.

"Are those the mission drafts?" A blonde head stuck curiously over his shoulder as the girl examined the now closed black leather case.

"Yeah. May as well put them out of sight now, we don't need anyone else seeing them." He stated matter-of-factly. Alexandra pursed her bottom lip in a newly developed habit of contemplation.

"Mm'kay, but wouldn't the safest choice be to get rid of them completely? You know, burn up the evidence or something." She watched his face curiously as his mouth twitched.

"Then we'd have nothing to fall back on in case we need a reference." He once again stated matter-of-factly. The young woman was starting to become irritated at how much more 'mature' he would (attempt to) act when they were not alone.

She sat back down against her seat, crossed her arms and stared out of the passenger's window. "Okay, okay, but you were the one who said that, as we are considered to be 'trained soldiers' on a 'Class-C mission', we definitely should not be needing any material after our briefing – which may I add, lasted more than just the regular few hours actual soldiers do get." She gave him a cheeky grin. "I believe that that was quite accurate to your actual earlier statement on the matter."

Madame Suzu laughed and took her complete attention away from the road ahead of her as she turned to talk to the brunette who sat frowning slightly beside her. Alexandra could only grip at the leather of her seat, the thoughts of papers and maturity slipping from her mind as only one thought entered her head: Make it to the airport in one damned healthy piece!

30 Minutes Later…

Trowa raised an eyebrow in speculation as Alexandra fell from the car as he opened the door for her. Her hair was slightly frazzled and her face was paler than normal.

"Are you alright? You look like you're going to be sick."

The green of her eyes gave him a very deadly glint as she grasped onto the car door and pulled herself up.

"I. Am. Never. In. My. Life. Going. Into. A. Car. When. THAT. Woman. Is. Driving. Again!" A strand of hair fluttered and landed between her two menacing green eyes – the effect of which was lost as she crossed them to glare at the offending piece.

She then whipped around to grab her duffel bag, slinging it carelessly over her shoulder and stalking off towards the entrance of the airport. Trowa And Madame Suzu took their time in following, chatting amiably as they came to the front doors, where it came time to say their farewells.

"Well, good luck on all of your… _travels_. Stay safe, and don't do anything stupid." The woman's eyes flickered over to the young and rather fowl tempered girl in front of her briefly, who caught the look and reddened. Madame Suzu smiled and patted her on the head like a young pup, knowing that Alexandra, though still naïve and rather childish, was competent enough to pull through the looming obstacle ahead of her. She shook Trowa's hand, mentioned something about them being more than welcome to come back for another visit – granted they helped with the housework next time – and watched as the pair vanished into the throngs of people and suitcases.

Once inside, the two set off immediately towards the desk of their airplane-company, hurriedly acquiring their boarding passes and dropping off any unnecessary luggage. They still needed to get through security and found themselves practically running through the large building, as the plane was due to leave in a half hour. Luckily it wasn't as busy as it could have been, and they were soon getting seated on the massive, and rather rare, 747 jet.

"I haven't been in one of these in ages. I forgot how big they are." Alexandra's round eyes scanned the body of the plane from her window seat, and thought briefly of how amazing it was that a thing so huge could fly.

"There are bigger planes out there now. Not to mention the shuttles." Trowa pulled a magazine out from the seat pocket in front of him, idly flipping through it. "When were you in a 747 before this?"

She sat back in her seat and gazed out the window at the white wing, the man with the orange cones walking by, another man driving a cart; both of them were wearing the standard head gear – blue ear muffs more or less.

"I don't even remember how old I was, but it was only once, we usually traveled in the regular sized planes. We went to Europe a lot, the family and me."

"Sounds expensive." He noted, voicing his question rather discreetly.

"We weren't rich – aren't rich. We lived in a smaller and older house than most other people I knew, and didn't spend lots of money on fancy new cars, though my dad does have a thing for electronics. But, we have family in Switzerland, and that's where our money would go, towards a trip there every few years. And other smaller trips trough Canada, and sometimes the States."

Trowa didn't say anything, just turned back to his magazine and imagined her in the life she had just described. It suited her, he decided. It was easy to see her coming from such a family – open minded, travelers, and well grounded financially without being ridiculously over-spoiled. His thoughts wandered over to Quatre quickly, and realized how rare a person he must be, when he had all of that money behind him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey there everyone, a new chapter and some new laughs (I hope), plus the story is moving on at least a little bit. Oh yeah, three cheers for hot boys! Hip-Hip Hooray! Hip-Hip Hooray! Hip-Hip Hooray!** **'Kay, I'm done ******

Alexandra had always longed to travel to the East and experience the many different and wonderful ancient oriental cultures that have thrived there for years. But she was disillusioned when the plane had begun to drop into the smoggy clouds of Hong Kong. The city looked astoundingly ahead of its time with the numerous skyscrapers jutting up into what should have been a blue sky, but the gray-brown haze that now obscured her view from the hotel room window put more than a damper on her want to see the city. She had lost her excitement and zeal for the mission, and remained in a quiet and rather turbulent mood all the way from the airport, through the taxi ride and still now as she sat on the bed, facing the large opening to the city world.

Trowa raised his eyebrows at her form as he walked from the bathroom, rubbing at his wet hair with a crisp white towel.

"You shouldn't let yourself get into a bad mood so easily, we have the ball to go to tonight. No one will be interested in talking with someone who's sulking in the corner." He hung the towel on the back of a chair and finished buttoning the loose blue collared shirt around his muscled frame.

She sighed and fell back against the bed. "It's just disappointing you know, nothing is ever the way you imagine it to be. And it's always worse too, never better."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, the bathroom has a deep tub you can go take a soak in before getting ready."

"You implying that I smell or something?" She crinkled her nose as her head tilted back to look at him, the blood rushing to her head quickly as the world turned upside down.

"I've received the impression that girls like to get ready for these sorts of things."

"Well, that's usually when it leads to something fun and exciting, like Grad night, or a night out clubbing with friends, or a date." She sat up too quickly and proceeded to fall from the mattress. Her eyes peeked over the edge in annoyance. "And I somehow get the feeling that tonight isn't going to be close to any of those things.

***

The Hotel that was being used for the _Army Convention_, as Alexandra referred to it, looked exactly as it had in the pictures they had gone over at Madame Suzu's. Even the people looked the same: dazzling dresses, sparkling jewellery, stiff old men in even stiffer tuxedos.

She walked into the babbling group of men and women, completely unsure of herself and hoping to whichever Deity that her cheeks weren't a bright shade of crimson. As some people turned to glance at her as she shuffled by she wished with all her might that Trowa hadn't insisted on going down earlier, leaving her to herself back in the hotel room.

A free table with a few empty seats came into view, hidden against the wall, crammed comfortably into the corner; she went straight towards it and collapsed into a chair. _What am I doing here? This is ridiculous. I should be at home, working or going to school...Not trying to infiltrate a new potential military threat! _Her head came to rest against the wall and she closed her eyes in an attempt to leave the current world she found herself in. It's too bad fate wouldn't have it that way.

"I don't much like these events either." A very smooth male voice commented. It wasn't Trowa's.

Her eyes opened slowly and she willed herself not to blush when they came to rest on an extremely handsome face. It bore a very regal straight nose, defined jaw and cheekbones with blue eyes that were lined by beautiful dark lashes. His black hair was combed back neatly. Most likely for the event, she mused, seeing that it would look much sexier when it was all messed up.

He angled his head when she didn't say anything, and leaned back into his chair. "Can I ask who you're here with? I don't think I've seen you before."

_So everybody knows everybody in this little group huh? _"I'm here with Trowa Barton." She noted the surprised look on his face.

"The Gundam Pilot? That is...interesting."

"You weren't expecting that answer. I'll admit it is a shocker, but he seems interested in the work this organization is doing." Her eyes narrowed slightly at the mention of 'work', and she gave the man a cool glance.

The man grinned suddenly, her mistrust of him and his group intentionally evident. He reached across the circular table and held out his hand.

"I'm Tom, Tom Carrick."

"Alexandra Logan." She shook his hand firmly, but lost some of her confidence when he didn't let go. His smile was still playing across his seductive mouth as he stood up and guided her with him.

"Let's dance shall we?"

_Bad idea, bad idea!_ But she didn't say anything as images of her horrendous dancing skills flashed through her mind. He pulled her into the crowd and then brought his other hand to her lower back, brushing against her skin where the dress ended. She was wearing a long black dress that was covered in a very thin layer of velvet. It had long sleeves and went up to just below her collar bone, but the back dipped down sensuously low and exposed the tender flesh there.

"Not used to doing this, are we?" He asked, looking down at her now red face in amusement. Her eyes glanced up at him, big and green and full of embarrassment.

"I'm really not much of a dancer." She murmured, looking around for that one familiar to help ease her sudden uneasiness.

Tom bent down slightly, and brought his mouth dangerously close to her ear. "Neither am I."

***

Trowa's attention was unwillingly drawn from the dark haired man who now held his partner a little too close for his liking. But he turned his head and gave his attention back to the man who was now going on about the old Zodiac models.

"... completely useless when it came to one on one combat."

"Yes, I see your point."

"Well, I'm sure you never had any of those troubles when you were piloting those Gundams. They sure were beauties! You must miss them!" And the old man proceeded to laugh, though it sounded like he was trying to bring something from his stomach back up out his mouth. He slapped Trowa on the back a few times and walked off, still chuckling too himself.

Trowa sighed and figured he had at least a few minutes to himself, but groaned inwardly as a familiar face came trotting back over to him. The young man who was now standing before him had latched on to Trowa as soon as he had entered the Hall, and he just couldn't shake him.

"Mr. Baaaarton! I brought you some champaaaagne! These events just get so duuuulll that everyone could use a little helper now and then. Though with you for company, I find myself having a rather gooood time." And then the man brought his champagne flute up to his mouth and downed the glass of bubbly in one quick swoop.

Trowa only sipped at his drink and pretended to listen, realizing early on that this man was not interested in what Trowa had to offer to the organization, it was more what Trowa had to offer _him_.

"You agree? Really? I have to say, though I was holding out hope that you'd say yes, I did always have a feeling that you were with the ladies."

Trowa almost choked on his drink. "Excuse me?"

"Ah, come on now, don't feel insulted if I misjudged you, but it's a little hard to tell with the quiet ones you know. Even to an experienced one like myself! Let's go up to my room and I can give you my apologies." And the gangly man took Trowa by the arm and started to steer him away from the crowd and towards the huge stairs that led away to the private and luxurious hotel rooms.

"I'm sorry, but what?" They stopped, the gangly man turning to face the brunette, patting him on the shoulder with a sympathetic smile.

"Oh honey, don't tell me you haven't realized it yet!"

"Realized what exactly?"

"That you're gay!" Trowa didn't say anything, but found himself staring rather wide eyed at the person in front of him.

***

As soon as Alexandra had found her opportunity to escape Tom, she took it. Though he was an extremely beautiful human being, he was just a _tad_ too confident for her, and it made her knees quiver more than was healthy for a girl her age. She had quickly excused herself from yet another dance, claiming something about using the ladies room, and then shuffled off in search of the face that would quiet her nerves down.

As she looked about for Trowa she once again found herself asking why she was there in the first place. _I am NOT cut out for this, I can't even handle being around a really good looking guy for a few dances, much less use my 'womanly charms' to learn more about this group! Where is Trowa damnit?"_

The aforementioned was apparently not in the crowds at the moment, so she slipped through a bundle of people and walked down the hallways, her shoes clicking annoyingly in her ears as they struck the marble. Rounding a corner, she heard some talking, quickly observing that the voices were male, and decided to follow her only lead. What she saw when the wall cleared her view had her stopping in shock.

There was Trowa, currently having his face eaten by another rather skinny man whose hand was also snaking its way around his back. Then suddenly, Trowa's taught little butt found itself being pawed at.

The nameless man stopped when he noticed the blonde standing there, her mouth hanging open. He pulled back from Trowa and looked between the two.

"I guess she never figured it out either. Really Trowa, to lead a girl on like that – "

He was cut off by laughter, and turned back to look at the girl who was now having a difficult time breathing.

Trowa shrugged and stepped back from the man. "I'm sorry, but I think you misunderstood when I said I wasn't gay." A moment of silence passed.

"Th-that's your...you're not..."

"Yes, that is my girlfriend, fiancée actually. And no, I'm not gay."

The man's face held a look of horror for a few moments before he uttered a very embarrassed _I'm so sorry_ and more or less ran off. Trowa watched him go, then wiped at his face when the other was out of sight.

He walked over to Alexandra when he found that his legs could still move, and stared down at her in silence.

She grabbed on to his tuxedo's lapels and attempted to say something.

"Tro-Trowa...pfft hahahahahaha!" And that was all she managed to get out that night.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello! If anyone is still reading this story...I'm sorry! (Begs forgiveness) It's been a really long while since I updated, not that I haven't been working on it, it's just unfortunately been a little piece at a time that I managed to get out, until tonight. I've recently inherited some inspiration, and now I'm giving you the next chapter.**

**This one isn't really particular, just trying to move the storyline on to bigger and better things. Hope you enjoy it! Reviews much appreciated!**

Trowa had been more than happy to find that his partner was still dead asleep when he woke up in the hotel room. It wasn't usual that he wanted to avoid confrontation of any kind, but he found that the events of the following evening were something that he'd rather remember alone.

Of course, the _slight_ misunderstanding that took place was embarrassing, but what really seemed to grab on to Trowa's thoughts was that dark haired man who had pulled Alexandra on to the dance floor. It was at that moment that he realized she was fully involved in the Boys' plans, and that now that she had become someone's object of interest, she was trapped until the end.

Trowa turned the water on to the shower and watched as the room filled with steam, then stepped underneath the burning liquid, but made no move to actually wash himself. He was now too preoccupied with trying to figure out all the ways their mission could now go; maybe they'd succeed without any real casualties, maybe they'd fail without any real casualties...or maybe...

"Trowa! Are you okay in there? The water's been running non-stop for at least a half hour!" Alexandra's voice broke his pessimistic train of thoughts, bringing him back to reality. He looked down at his hands and noticed his fingers had started to react to the water. Five minutes later he walked out of the bathroom, almost knocking the blonde down as she waited outside the door worriedly.

She gave him a quizzical look, "You okay Trowa? ... No permanent scarring after last night's..._incident_?" Her grin came naturally, and he tried to smile back.

"It's fine...Sometimes there are things you need to do in order to get information."

"Well then, I certainly hope you got a truck load of info!" Her eyebrow rose as she thought about it, wondering what she'd be willing to do, and for how much.

Trowa's face shadowed with annoyance as he realized he hadn't gained any valuable knowledge the evening before, but he shrugged it off remembering he had another chance; the man he had been talking too about mobile suits, before he was whisked off for a little night cap, was a Senior Officer of the Naval Divison of this new OA Organization, and he heartily enjoyed taking his young Trainees out for extravagant lunches. Upon encountering Trowa, he had finally found someone of substance with which he could discuss his obsession: Mobile Suits – and more importantly: The Gundams. So Trowa had been invited along for the next luncheon that was to take place the following day.

_Maybe if I get the old bastard drunk enough, I can finally have some Intel for Heero. _

He pulled on a fresh set of clothes and ruffled his hair with the now damp towel, turning at the sound of a knock on the main door to their room.

"I have a message that is to be delivered immediately to the young Lady staying in this room, Sir." The older man in his impeccably perfect uniform had handed Trowa a sealed note as soon as he had opened the door, then turned on his heel and walked off. Trowa regarded the piece of paper with interest, but decided to leave it for Alex to open.

When she had popped out of the bathroom after taking a shower of her own, she caught sight of the paper laying harmlessly across her pillow. Instead of picking it up however, she regarded it suspiciously and gave Trowa a look.

"What's that?" She asked, waking over to her bed, her eyes still on the note.

"It's a note for you; it was brought up just a few minutes ago."

She picked it up and opened it carefully, scrutinizing the handwriting that was addressed solely to her. Her eyebrows rose in surprise as she read who the message was from, sure that the sender would have forgotten about her after her escape the previous night; apparently he hadn't.

"It's from that man who danced with you last night isn't it?" Trowa's eyes had been reading her face since she opened the paper.

Alexandra blinked. "Yeah, surprisingly. He's invited me along to that lunch you're going too today...as his guest." She made a strange face and sat down, then looked over at Trowa oddly.

"I know I'm supposed to be getting information out of these people for you and the others...But..."

"...But?"

"Well, it's not that I don't want to help...but...this Tom guy, I don't know what I can do with him. I think he knows what we're trying to do."

Trowa gave a small smile. "Everyone knows what we're trying to do. Why else would a Gundam Pilot bother with an organization unless they wanted information on it?"

The girl bit her lip. "It's just that...I don't know if I can handle him. He knows how to keep me clear of asking questions. I think he can tell I'm not used to guys."

"Well, it is rather obvious." Trowa stated rather matter-of-factly. Alexandra shot him a glare.

"Obvious weaknesses aside, what if the opposite happens? What if he ends up getting information out of me? It's not like I don't know some valuable stuff about you guys right now. I don't want to screw this mission up because some hot guy is flattering me with his attentions!" She groaned and rubbed at her face.

It was Trowa's turn to raise his eyebrows. "I see, so his attention is getting to you already."

"Well of course it is, he's...beautiful really. How can it not get to me? I've never been approached by someone that good looking before. What do I do? How do you deal with beautiful women without losing sight of your objective?" Her eyes had become wide in anticipation of his answer.

"Who says I deal with beautiful women?" He was slightly flabbergasted at her question.

"Uh...Well, I guess I just kind of assumed it was regular for you. Don't you notice them stare at you when you walk by? Young ones, old ones, pretty ones. And I'm sure it was no different last night! Heck, even some of the guys were interested!" At that she cracked a grin and let loose some full hearted laughter.

Trowa gave a slight scowl, realizing that what had happened at the Ball was most likely going to haunt him for as long as this girl was around. He didn't much enjoy being the source of such comical adventures, but he let it slide and sighed as he contemplated her words.

"Well...: He began, "beauty really isn't everything you know. It's rather easy to look past it and forget it's even there. If you can just see the person for who they are, then they're physical appearance can be left aside and it's easier to treat them how you need too. If you don't let that guy's looks rule how you act around him, you shouldn't have a problem dealing with his advances and what you think are his intentions of using you for his own gain."

She nodded in agreement and stood up suddenly; clenching her fist and throwing a fierce look out the window. "That's right; I just have to get over his looks. He's just another person after all. I can do this." She muttered to herself, and then almost scared the crap out of Trowa as she suddenly yelled:

"Bring on the hotness universe! I can withstand it!" Her eyes were blazing with her new found confidence.

*******

The city air was heavy with heat and humidity, creating a large swell of smog throughout the city skyline, obscuring the view of far off skyscrapers that reached towards the hidden blue field earnestly. It made even the lightest of fabrics cling mercilessly to the people that wore them like a second a skin (much to Alexandra's dismay), and had some peoples' hair turning into a bush of pure frizz. Still though, the streets were crowded with locals and tourists taking advantage of the warmth in order to spend the day outside chatting, eating and shopping.

Trowa and Alexandra were currently among the throngs of warm bodies that were making their way down the sidewalks, the two heading for a green sign that hung over the crowd. They reached it within minutes and pushed their way through the small door, a bell jingling happily as it swung open and revealed a cozy little restaurant packed to the brim with people. Thankfully it was air-conditioned and provided a much needed relief of the blazing moist heat that now surrounded the enormous city of Hong Kong.

They were immediately recognized by the old man who had invited Trowa along, he called them over to his corner booth loudly but warmly, barking orders at the younger recruits around him to make room for the two. Alexandra's stomach fluttered as Tom steered her towards an empty seat beside him, putting on a most charming smile. Her eyes searched for Trowa's in one last desperate plea for help, but he looked away and began his conversation with the men around him.

To Alexandra's surprise, the lunch wasn't as horrible as she had imagined it would be, though the attention of not only Tom but also some of the other young men around her, though completely innocent, was making her rather uncomfortable, she managed to make it through alive coming across as even somewhat charmingly cheeky. By the time dessert had come around everyone was fully relaxed (and fully stuffed) that they all just sort of sat, slumped comfortably in their chairs, chatting about absolutely nothing in particular. Even the Officer who had invited Trowa along just so they could discuss the Gundams had turned his conversation away from anything even related to the military.

In fact, he wasn't speaking at all, but had apparently falling asleep after his rather heavy meal.

Tom decided to use this opportunity to his advantage, and asked his guest if she should care for a walk through a nearby park. Not seeing the harm, and since Trowa was still at least engrossed in speaking about something or other with the other young men at the table, she agreed and soon found herself back outside in the sticky heat.

_No harm my ass. Why did I agree to come out here and boil to death like a lobster?_

As if reading her mind Tom sent her an apologetic smile, "I know it's hot out, but the park is quite shaded and it's bordering the beach, so we can always go dip our feet in the water if we need too."

"It feels like we'll need too." She responded dryly, already feeling the beads of sweat forming on her back and forehead.

The pair walked in silence until they were safely out of the sun and in the cover of the slightly swaying trees, the leaves shushing the surrounding area lightly, like a mother to a young child that was a little more rambunctious than it ought to be.

Tom turned his head towards her, and she slowly turned to face him, an expression of curiosity in her eyes.

"Something wrong?"

"It's just something I've been wanting to ask you, but I wasn't sure you'd want to discuss it in front of everyone at the restaurant." He replied, his face rather expressionless.

She arched a brow, "Well, go ahead and ask me, whatever it is. I doubt I'll mind." She steered them over to an empty bench and sat down with a sigh, wiping some of the moistness from her face.

"Well, it's certainly none of my business, but I was just wondering why – how you got involved with Mr. Barton. I've heard he is quite the hard man to find." He paused for a moment and then sent her a mischievous grin and added: "Except of course when he comes to you looking for information."

Alexandra managed to keep her face straight, but the meaning of his words hit her insides like a canon ball. Still, she decided she would approach this topic as casually as she possibly could.

"Well, you know, circumstances and what not."

"You're not intent on revealing much to me. I understand, there are probably a few things you and your friend wouldn't want our Organization to know."

Alexandra shook her head and looked at the dark haired man in front of her with steady eyes.

"It's more that it's…hard to explain. I can't say I care much for revisiting the past right now anyway. I'm not used to being away from everything I know. It makes me homesick." She had said it with complete sincerity, and the tinge of sadness that entered her green orbs had Tom shuffling the topic away without another word.

*******

**On a side note, I don't know if there is a park like that in Hong Kong, but frankly I was too lazy to check...Goodnight :D**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey! I finally updated! Can you believe it? I'm hoping this chapter is longer than the others have been – it's registering as eight pages in word in the regular 12 size font, so it better be of decent length.**

**This chapter might be a bit weird because I wrote most of it late night, and though I don't FEEL tired, I could tell my brain was going as I was writing it since I tried to write certain words like a kindergarten. You know, write it how it sounds, lol! And they're words I should know too!**

**Anyways, I hope you all like it, those of you that are left that is! And I'd like to give a big thank you to: British Buffalo and AnimeRyRy for their reviews! Thanks so much, it means a lot that even jus the two of you like it :D**

**Criticism (constructive) welcomed!**

When Trowa returned to the hotel room, it was already far past midnight, the lights from the city below twinkled in through the open windows and the last bit of moon sat quietly in the sky alongside its starry companions. He closed the door quietly, locking it out of habit, and glanced towards the bed closest to the windows. His partner appeared to be dead asleep as she lay on her back, one arm tossed over the pillow above her head, the other strewn across her chest. Her mouth was hanging open a little, but she wasn't snoring. In fact, she was such a quiet sleeper that sometimes Trowa could forget she was there.

He smiled in amusement at her face, thinking instantly of a young child who had passed out after a long day of play, and pulled off his shirt and jeans slipping into his own bed, not even bothering to pull a sheet over himself. It was still too hot, and he reflected on his decision to sport the thick and tight pants, wondering what had been going through his mind when he pulled them on in the first place...

Oh, that's right, the blonde who now lay beside him had just dragged herself out of bed, her rosy cheeks unusually pale, her eye lids half closed with sleep, her lips surprisingly pink and her hair mussed from tossing around on the pillow. She had looked like a porcelain doll to him, albeit one that had perhaps been handled a little more roughly than was necessary, and it had distracted his earlier thoughts about the weather and clothing options.

Sighing with what may have been frustration he glanced over at the girl again, wondering why he was starting to notice these things about her...starting to think these things about her...

He glared briefly at the ceiling before turning away from her and facing the door, hoping a quiet blank sleep would overtake him quickly and allow him to relinquish his train of thought for another, non-existent time. Anyway, there were far more important matters to deal with presently, the newest of which was an invitation in to the OA organization, in order to "_see for himself what they were in the process of doing and what they wanted to accomplish_".

Trowa knew that what they really wanted was to use him to their advantage, gain his trust and scratch at his curiosity until he willingly gave them what they wanted; whatever that was. It could be his knowledge on the Preventers, his knowledge on Gundams, his expertise as a soldier, or maybe his face as a weapon against still unknown enemies. Still, he had decided before even reaching China that getting in was the only option. Their security was so tight that it had proven so far to be the only way of getting a glimpse of their inside plans, and even then they may try to discard of him, or his partner, before any actual important information found its way into non OA hands.

And as much as he found himself loathe to admit it, this Tom character who had taken an extremely curious liking to Alexandra was going to be a great asset in the G-Boys' plans. He had figured it quite quickly that in a few days time, if everything went well between him and the Senior Officer, and Alexandra and Tom, they could find themselves much deeper in to the organization than they had first anticipated, and then he'd be off playing soldier once again. He didn't think he'd mind it so much though, daily training, wearing the uniform, learning battle strategies. It'd give him something to do without thinking or worrying over other things too much.

Though, as he glanced again at his snoozing female companion, he couldn't help but worry over what was going to happen to her. There was no way she'd make it as a soldier. She didn't have the disciple or the mentality for it, and he doubted she'd ever agree to joining any military organization, no matter what the circumstances; the only reason she was with him now was because she hadn't had much choice in the matter anyway. Perhaps, if she was lucky, she'd become something as simple as Tom's play toy for the time being...but he didn't like that idea very much. Maybe they could come up with a new strategy in order to keep her tucked away in a safe corner...

***

"We're WHAT?!" Alex's eyes were wide in shock as she stared at Trowa, but they soon shifted to her surroundings as she noticed people staring at her after her outburst.

They had been walking out of the Sank Kingdom's Capital airport when Trowa had mentioned his new plan to her, which, apparently, had been more surprising to her than he thought it would be.

He began walking again, shrugging off her exclamation.

"You don't have to act so surprised. I HAD mentioned something or other of the sort a few nights ago to some of the people at the formal gathering."

Alex walked up behind him briskly.

"You said it to ONE person, and only because he was in the middle of feasting on your face. Don't you think you could have run this over with me before you decided firmly to put it into play? Anyway, it's not like I have to agree."

"You do. I've decided that's what we're doing."

"Excuse me?" She halted again, this time under the shade of a large oak that stood between the sidewalk and the road.

Trowa sighed and looked back at her.

"You heard me. This is what we're going to do. We're going to the OA Headquarters in two hours, and unless you want to be inducted into the organization as a participating solider, you'll play along and keep your resentment to yourself."

"I'm not going to 'play along'. This is so stupid! Is it because I'm a woman and you think I can't do anything? Is that why you're giving me this ..._insufferable_ role?! I'm not going to do it. WE can come up with a different plan if you think it so important to keep me out of soldier duty, but we're not –"

"You WILL do as you're told!"

Alex, for the third time in less than five minutes, stopped what she as doing and gaped at the man before her. His eyes burned an imaginary hole through her head, and his nostrils were flared a little. But the worst part was that he had just yelled. At her. And from what she had seen of him so far, Trowa never yelled.

Her cheeks reddened in embarrassment as she looked down at the ground, her mouth now firmly closed. She didn't know why, but his getting mad enough at her to yell made her feel ashamed, and hurt.

Trowa turned away from her and continued walking, carrying his duffel bag dutifully towards a black car parked on the other side of the street.

By the time they were both in the car, sitting side by side in the back, neither was speaking to the other, and except for the low humming that came from the driver up front, the car was filled with tense silence.

But as a light bulb flashed in her head, Alex suddenly had a hard time keeping her mouth shut. She did however have the foresight to think about speaking in front of the driver, lest he relay any information forward to ears that were not meant to hear it. She decided to test the waters first, slowly.

"C'est...une belle journer n'est ce pas?" _It's a nice day isn't it?_ She cringed inwardly at her accent, not having spoken in French for a lengthy amount of time, she also wondered if she'd remember enough words to say what she wanted.

Trowa was more than a little surprised to hear his mother tongue come from the fuming female beside him, but his mind made the connection to the security of the driver quite quickly, so he was able to shake it off in a matter of seconds and respond.

"Oui, c'est une belle journer... Qu'est-ce que tu veux parler apropos?"_ Yes, it's a nice day...What do you want to talk about?_ His French was smooth and suave, and had Alex been in the mood to daydream, it would have been extremely sensual as well. It wouldn't even have mattered what he said.

"Ca ne vas pas marcher. Tu sais pourquoi? A cause de quoi tu m'a dis de faire avec Tom. Tu pense vraiment qu'il vas me chercher si je suis supposer d'etre ta copinne?"_ It's not going to work. You know why? Because of what you told me to do about Tom. He's not going to chase after me if I'm supposed to be your girlfriend/fiancée._ She gave him a pointed look, wondering how on earth he had come to that solution when just a few days ago he had thought Tom would make a good path into the organization. If she waltzed around pretending to be involved with Trowa, then Tom would probably avoid her if anything...unless of course he didn't care about commitments between two people, but then she'd have to avoid him. Womanizers like that were total skeezes, and she definitely didn't want to make herself out to be a cheating slut, even if she could wrangle information from him.

_ Yeah, me and my 'VAST' sexual experience, I'm sure I'd get 'TONS' of useful intel with that._

Trowa sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. Was he losing his touch that he had forgotten his plan for Tom and Alex? Or maybe he had just wanted to forget, and had been more than hopeful that she wouldn't have caught on to the snag about his earlier proposition, but apparently she was a little faster than he gave her credit for.

"Fine, you're right." He lapsed back into lazy English easily, but his tone held a tad bit of annoyance.

The driver glanced into the mirror. "Is that a lovers' quarrel I hear? Mind you I didn't catch the first bit, but I suppose you were saying some nasty things you didn't want me to hear hmm?" He chuckled to himself whilst Alex sniffed her nose at him, perplexed at his nosy rudeness into their conversation.

"Just talking about which restaurant we should go to for dinner." Trowa said, not bothering to take his eyes from the window.

"Not that it's any of your business." Alex sneered lowly, but hoping it was loud enough for the driver to hear.

She assumed he had, as she saw his eyebrows raise a little in the rear view mirror, but he just chuckled to himself and continued on casually.

"It depends what you're in the mood for of course. If you want to make something up to the little Lady back there, there's a nice Italian restaurant in the center of the village you'll be staying near." A grin plastered on his face, "It's real romantic too, let's just say most couples that go there go to get..._in the mood_, if you know what I'm saying."

"Euch!"

Trowa turned to look at her as her face scrunched up in disgust.

"What? You don't like doing the naughty? No wonder you and your boyfriend are fighting. I'd be mad too!" The driver proceeded to laugh, a lot. Apparently Alexandra's disgust at the thought of them both 'together' was very amusing; although Trowa didn't find it so.

What was wrong with him that she'd make such a face anyway? Hadn't she said he was good looking? Did he smell bad?

"That's not it! Just mind your own business. You're being paid to drive, not to delve into other peoples' lives!" Her face was red again, but she was angry. You could tell by the snarl in her voice.

"Okay, okay little Lady; jeez man, you've got a feisty little missus there with yeh." And with those final words, the driver finally returned his attention to the road.

The rest of the forty-seven minutes spend in that car were endured through an even tenser silence than before. Alex was still giving off vibes of annoyance towards the driver as she glared out the window into the sun, and Trowa's face, unusually accompanied by a small frown, gazed at nothing as he pondered the age old question all people come across in their lifetimes:

_ Why does she find the thought of me and her so disgusting? __**What's wrong with me?**_

**_***_**

The sky was darkening in the North quickly as the last bit of orange sun dipped behind the Southern horizon. The days were shortening, and it was noticeable as the day began its transfer into the 1st of October. The air was much chillier than it had been in Hong Kong as well, but this change was met with relief and appreciation by Alexandra, who had never fared well in hot humidity.

They had pulled up to the outside gates of the OA organization's Headquarters a few minutes ago, and were now in the process of undergoing security clearance. Their luggage had been dumped at their feet, and with a final mock salute, the driver had hopped back in to the black car and driven off like a mad man, which he probably was.

A guard stationed at the booth watched them with curiosity, undoubtedly wondering why two civilians were being granted access into the buildings.

"How long does it take to check if we can get in or not anyway?" Alex muttered to Trowa quietly, glancing back the freckly man behind her.

"We don't have any documents showing if we're actually supposed to be here, for starters. Plus we were invited by a Senior Officer, so they need to contact him personally to make sure he did grant us an invitation here."

She raised an eyebrow, "How long does it take to get a hold of someone? Do they go from person to person, rank by rank in order to reach the top?"

"Pretty much." He said.

"Augh, what a waste of time." But her complaining was to stop as the speckled man hollered at them to pass through as the gates clicked open. She didn't appreciate having to drag her bags along with her all the way to the main building however, they were heavier than she remembered.

"This place looks suspicious from out here doesn't it? Not like a regular factory or warehouse... I wonder if others have noticed that too?" She mused, glancing around at the large hangers off to the left, and the many dorm like buildings and green fields to the right.

"That's because it's a military base."

"I know that, but don't you find it odd that they had no problem showing rank in Hong Kong, but here they downplay it all?"

Trowa heaved a large duffel over his shoulder and gave her a pointed look, " I don't know if you've forgotten, but the Sank Kingdom is a little more than sick of war and military operations. I'd say it's more for that reason than them actually trying to hide themselves. The whole point of them being open in Hong Kong was to make themselves seem like less of a threat. If you're acting secretive, people generally assume you have something to hide and become curious, which, if you do have something to hide, is dangerous isn't it?" When they came up to two large doors he stopped to take a look at her.

"Now, not that I don't appreciate your curiosity, but it would be best if you shut your mouth for the next little while, you know, in order to keep us alive." He gave her a quick grin, which baffled her into silence more than anything else.

There was another guard waiting just inside the doors. He seemed to recognize them as he greeted them and mentioned something about being sent to show them the way. They walked down a large main hallway, then veered off to the right and walked down a narrower one with many doors on both sides. Alex would have ventured to wonder what was behind said doors when they came to another right turn, walking to the very end towards the last door in the left. The man saluted them quickly, turned swiftly on his heels and marched right back down from where they had come.

"This place must be frackin huge." She whispered, aware that there were voices coming from behind the closed door. Trowa raised an eyebrow.

"Frackin?"

"Never mind that." She attempted to swat at him but couldn't manage with the bags. "Let's just get in there and find out what's going on and what we're to do while we're here okay? The quicker we get to our rooms, and a bed, the better."

Then the door opened and both Alex and Trowa were left blinking in surprise.

"Duo?!" They said in unison, unsure about the vision that had appeared before them.

The braided haired man gave them a big grin as he leaned into the doorway.

"Heya guys, we were wondering when you'd get here!" He looked back at the others in the room, a blonde head was visible, and Trowa had the faint suspicion that that blonde head belonged to someone he knew.

"Why are you here?" He demanded as he pushed passed Duo in to the room, Alexandra was a little more polite and waited for the cheerful one to move of his own accord.

"Why are all of you here?" He demanded again, taking in the three other extremely recognizable faces.

"Yeah yeah, it's a funny story actually, You'll love it! – What the heck is in these bags anyway?" Duo glanced back at the only female in the room whose bags he had taken out of chivalry, she just shrugged.

"I've no idea, I didn't pack that one, Trowa made me carry it."

"And the rest?" He gave one a little shake, nothing jostled around in it, it had been packed to the brim.

"Clothes of course. What else?" She gave him a cheeky grin, which he returned playfully.

Trowa seemed to be getting impatient though, as he asked again what was going on.

"We would have gotten a hold of you if we'd had the time Trowa, but we only just found out too, and we came here as quickly as we could to meet up with the two of you." Quatre offered gently. "What I can say right now though, is that the OA Organization is not a threat, to us at least."

_ Well that certainly solves all our problems doesn't it?_ Trowa thought sourly before grabbing a seat across from Heero.

"It turns out," Heero started, "That this is a branch of the Preventers."

"That WE didn't know about?" Trowa asked sceptically. They had always been informed of any major missions or undertakings of the Preventers, they were after all, Senior Officials of the Organization in their own right. Why on Earth would they not have been informed of this?

Quatre gave him a worried look. "According to Lady Une, it was imperative that we not know for as long as possible, in order to keep it downplayed. Apparently this branch is going after a specific arms dealing ring, and if we had known about it back at Preventer HQ than the mission could have been jeopardized."

Alex opened her mouth without thinking, and all eyes turned to her. "That means that someone...back at your Head Quarters...is leaking information then, right?"

"Yes." Heero said simply. "And we don't know who. Frankly it could be anyone, though I'd prefer to narrow it down to higher ranked Preventers. Mainly those who work right under us, because they would be the first ones to know about any secret missions we were undertaking."

"So why did Lady Une suddenly decide to let you all know about the OA?" Trowa asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"Because of you" Wufei answered, then glanced at Alexandra with boredom, "And her. This mission we sent you on got back to her quite quickly, so she figured it was best to tell us and let you know that this wasn't what we first thought."

Duo chuckled from his pushed back seat as he let his feet rest on the table in the center of the room. "It wouldn't have gotten back to Lady Une if you hadn't blabbed to Sally."

Wufei threw him a death glare, but it went unnoticed as Duo relayed Wufei and Sally's 'date', as he liked to call it, to Alex with great enthusiasm. He noticed her yawn, and knew it couldn't be from his exciting story, so he decided to be the chivalrous one, again.

"Hey, sorry to cut into this little Q&A session, but I'm gonna take her, "He pointed his thumb over his shoulder towards the sleepy eyed blonde. "to her room. I've already heard all of this anyway."

Wufei gave a smirk. "Yeah, and maybe now we can actually get some work done, without any of your 'insightful' comments."

"Har har _Wu-man_." Wufei's face snapped back to the death glare at the mention of his most hated nickname, but once again it was ignored as Duo and his swinging braid walked out the room with several bags, Alex in tow.

Alex sighed, her vision taking her to the near future. _I think those two fighting is going to be more tiring than this mission ever would have been._

_***_

**If my French grammar sucks and any of you noticed, please don't hate on me! I've always been terrible at French grammar, which is pathetic as I was in French Immersion for thirteen years, but I never got the written part of that language down! So many damned rules! **

**I'm hoping to have the next chapter up much more quickly that it's been taking me, since I think I know where the story wants to go!**

**And Kudos to anyone who got the BattleStar Galactica reference! Have a Merry Christmas and Great New Year!!!**


	9. Chapter 9

**What?! Another update? So fast? I wonder if maybe the world is going to end soon... I have this sudden burst of energy, and the need to work on this story is nuts! I even have more written than I'm actually posting right now! Holy crap right?**

**So I hope people are still reading *tear*. This chapter is basically a run down of what the new mission is going to be, and then the next chapter will jump right into it (I figured I'd warn because otherwise it'd probably be confusing). I hope this one isn't too boring or anything. – Oh yeah! Next few chapters are going to be...shall we say...more mature? Let's face it, criminals don't tend to speak eloquently, and they're day jobs ain't so quaint either are they? If anyone is easily offended, don't read past this chappie....but otherwise, enjoy!**

the nightstand clock was the only thing providing any light in the small room as its green numbers glowed out towards the bed. It was the first thing Alex's eyes wandered towards as she opened them blearily.

4:03 a.m.

She rolled over on to her back in frustration, losing hope that she'd be able to get back to sleep now. She had figured before she went to bed though that her recent bout of travel would most definitely catch up with her and cause some severe jet lag. It was just that since she was awake so early, she had nothing to do but to lay there and wait until everyone else got up – or maybe not.

Was it really necessary to wait until someone beckoned her out of her room? It may have been a military base, and some visions of herself being caught out of her quarters after curfew and without permission - and then being dragged off to a damp and dark cell for solitary confinement - did flit across her mind briefly, BUT she reasoned, she was there with special permission. It was a branch of the Preventers, though secret, and she knew some of the top guns personally. And besides, embroiled in this crazy escapade or not, she was still considered a civilian, so she figured she could risk a little walk around the area without too much danger of being shot for disobeying orders.

In five minutes time (probably a new record for her) she had slapped on some black jogging pants and a loose sweater, brushed her teeth and had only needed to pull her hair back in a simple pony before she was quietly closing her door. The halls were completely silent, and she thanked her brain for deciding to ditch the shoes and go for simple socks instead as there was no doubt that even runners would be audible in this silence.

There was literally no sound anywhere except the low hum coming from the lights in the hallway, and they weren't very bright either so Alex was having a hard time figuring out where she was going. It all looked the same to her, she couldn't even find her way back to the main entrance they had first got through earlier that day, so she just wandered around for a while, thinking about the upcoming Halloween Holiday. It was too bad she wouldn't be able to celebrate, even though she probably only would have given out candy, but knowing she was going to miss it completely kind of deflated her.

When she rounded the next corner, her thoughts of ghouls and candy vanished as two large doors with windows cropped in to view. As she walked up to them, from what she could see, they opened in to a huge cafeteria, obviously meant to hold almost half of the buildings' occupants at a time. She figured that since she had nothing else to do she may as well pop in there and lounge at a table for while, until she fell asleep again or was caught by the first soldier up.

Apparently it was to be the latter.

As the doors swung open to let her in, Tom looked over his shoulder in surprise.

"Alexandra?"

She cocked her head in puzzlement. "Nice to see you too, why do you look so shocked? You knew I was coming."

A mere moment of awkwardness passed between them before a huge grin graced his already blessed face. "Yes, I knew you were coming. To be honest, I just got the impression that you weren't much of a morning person." He gestured to the chair across from him. "Why are you up so early?"

She huffed in annoyance. "Why else would I be up? Jetlag of course! You were right about me and mornings. I'd probably sleep every day away if I could."

"You should have been born as a house cat. Sounds like it would be the perfect life for you."

"I agree. It's too bad karma decided to make me human, because now I'm actually supposed to try and do something with my life." She let her head fall to the table with a thud. _Ow._

"And this 'something' that I'm doing now is getting more complicated by the minute." She looked up at him, noticing that he still had a big smile on his face.

"I thought it was odd that you found my suspicion weird. Now I know why you were trying not to laugh last time." She muttered up at him, eyes narrowing playfully.

He sighed dramatically, throwing his hands up in the air. "Oh why must you plague our conversation with this drivel? We were having such a good time discussing your sleeping habits."

She laughed at him, swiping at the hand closest to her.

"Don't be a dummy. We may as well get this out of the way now, and then continue on about nothing later."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Anyways, it's true. I DID find it amusing, the way you threw your suspicion right in to my face, basically accusing me of what you had conjured up in your head, when there was really nothing to be worried about in the first place." He paused and levelled her with a stern look that caught her off guard.

"You're lucky I'm on your side Alexandra, because if I wasn't, or you had been that blatant about your feelings with someone else who wasn't...you'd most likely be in a garbage bin right now."

Her stomach turned sour at the thought and she turned her head to gaze at a blank wall.

"If you're serious about what you're here to do" - He put up his hand to stop her protest – "Whether it's by choice or not, you have to be more discreet. Much more discreet if you want to survive this."

"I know." She huffed. "It's just that, when we were back at the party, and I was thinking about all those people being the enemy...being the cause of...And then you came along acting all suave and cocky, and it just really made me angry. I wanted the enemy to know how I felt."

A large and warm hand found its way to her small pale one, grasping it gently like one would a child's. Tom's eyes met hers with a sadness she hadn't seen in a long time, a time she would rather forget, but he held her gaze in a steady lock.

"I know what happened to you, and please trust me when I say I know exactly how you feel. I – "

There was a bang as the cafeteria doors burst open and hit the walls. Duo, who had probably been chatting animatedly (and a tad too excitedly) stopped in his tracks as he caught the pair at the table. His mouth curved into a playful grin quickly though, and he didn't waste time in beginning his teasing of the two.

"Oh ho! Look what we ran in to! Sorry to disrupt your little bubble of blossoming romance, buuuuut we've been looking for the little Lady ever since she left her room." He flounced over from the other four men and sat promptly beside the blonde, hanging an arm heavily around her shoulder. "Where'd you go off to so early anyway? You should have just come to get me if you couldn't sleep. I know where all the good places in this base are; we could have watched movies or played some games."

Her face, which had previously been a contented shade of paleness, had turned a very nice shade of deep red. Being caught with Tom's hand over hers was one thing, but then being teased by Duo, whose loud mouth was capable of broadcasting across the entire Sank Kingdom didn't help one bit. Not to mention the look on Trowa's face right at that moment; he looked like he was about ready to kill someone, and he was staring straight at her.

She suddenly wondered if she really was going to survive the mission: her heart felt like it had just dropped down to her stomach and she knew that couldn't be any good. How long would it take before the acid ate through its flesh anyway?

"Sorry." Tom's hand retreated slowly. Was he doing that on purpose? "I guess I should have realized you'd need to see her again today."

"Yes, you should have." Heero's stern voice flowed from behind Tom as the brunette walked over and sat down at head of the table.

"Don't worry about it Tom." Quatre gave Heero a look. "It's lucky we found the both of you together," He turned to Tom. "Lady Une has requested you be a part of Team Raven for this op. So you'll need to be briefed along with Alexandra."

Tom smiled over at the girl who had suddenly retreated in to silence. "Lucky us, it looks like we'll be working together on this."

"She'll still be _my_ partner." Trowa said quietly as he took a seat beside said partner. His green eyes looked more piercing than normal.

Quatre fidgeted a little with his hands before continuing on as smoothly as he could. The sudden tension in the room felt like coils around his neck, and even if one wasn't as prone to others' feelings as he was, they'd have to be a dunce not to notice anything.

"Uhm, anyway. Yes, to lay out the basics, there will be two Teams: Team Raven which will consist of Trowa, Alexandra, Tom and Jennifer Benny – she's coming in from the United States tomorrow. She's worked with Lady Une personally through the OA and has a large amount of combat experience. Team Sparrow will be Heero, Wufei, Duo and myself. Team Raven will be split into two subgroups: Trowa with Alexandra, and Tom with Jennifer. The reason for this is that you four are going to be our front runners in this mission. How exactly you plan to convey yourselves to the enemy will be up to you to decide on based on what you feel will work best, but in essence you'll be trying to get into the arms ring."

"It shouldn't be too hard since we'll be providing you the 'goods' you'll need to get their attention, at the least. And once you're in you'll need to work your way up to get names and faces, times and locations of drop offs and pick-ups and so on." Duo added seriously.

"We'll be backing you guys up the whole way, and if anything serious comes up we can get you out. Hopefully nothing of the sort happens and it'll just turn out to be a routine arms bust...but, there are rumours going around that it could be a lot bigger than some of the mob stuff we've seen with the Preventers before. So everyone will have to be on their guard." Quatre finished, handing out a folder to each person sitting at the table.

"Do you have any questions Alex? We know you're not used to this kind of stuff."

She looked up at the kind blonde and managed a smile for him.

"I do actually." There was a snort from Wufei which sounded suspiciously like it was followed by a '_figures'_, but she ignored it.

"Well, the last time we tried to do this with the OA, you wanted to send me along because I wasn't recognizable, but we later decided having Trowa's face could come in handy if they wanted to exploit his talents and expertise...But if it's an arms ring, and they recognize him as a Gundam Pilot or a Preventer, uh, won't they just kill us?"

"It's a possibility." Trowa answered honestly. "We're going on the assumption that they won't know my face because it's not a military organization, so they shouldn't be familiar with me."

"And aside from myself, Trowa is the only other Gundam Pilot who hasn't shown himself to the public as much as the other three. Plus, he has the most experience with infiltration." Wufei stated, his arms crossed over his chest, looking a little annoyed. At what, Alex couldn't be sure but figured it had to do with her question.

"In any case," Quatre interjected. "You four will need to come up with some new names, and then we can give you new identities that will more than make you fit in with their group."

"Just what I wanted, to fit in with a bunch of criminals." Alex muttered throwing a glance at Duo who chuckled from beside her. At least she'd get to pick her own alias.

_Screw Halloween. It's like friggin Christmas Morning today!_

**Thanks again for reading! And one final warning about the upcoming chapter – more mature (swearing, criminal activity...perhaps some sexual encounters) I may even change the rating of this story if I deem it necessary.**

**Hope everyone had a good Christmas, and Have a Happy New Year!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Woot woot! Another chapter and considering I'm back in school that' pretty good! But I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, since school makes one want to daydream about anything but what you're learning, am I right?**

**I want to thank EVERYONE whose reviewed so far: ThruTheMoss, British Buffalo, AnimeRyRy and to JJBoadway for adding this story to their story alert!**

**I hope you all like this chapter, it might be kind of confusing because it skips forward to when they've already integrated into a gang, but maybe you'll still enjoy it eh? Well, we'll see I guess!**

**Quick Warning: SWEARING! But what do you expect with gang members?**

**And to make life that much easier: Trowa= Wolf/ Alex= Cecile (C)/ Tom = Radar/ Jennifer = Bullet.**

**There isn't much Tom or Jennifer yet in this chapter but I'll try to bring them in soon because I like those two **

**Remember to review!!!**

*******

Two and a half months later...

"C!"

_"So...she found them. She's gone home then?" Her voice quivered, but she tried to hold it back. She wouldn't let herself show anything in front of them, not right now._

_"Her sister was found in a hospital near the location of the attack. It seems she had an amnesiac response to the trauma, and has only recently started to remember things. When she mentioned your friend's name, they found her through the Preventers." Quatre hesitated briefly. This wasn't a subject he had wanted to open up with her, but everyone had agreed that she'd most likely take hearing it from him the best. He could be the most gentle and sympathetic of them all at the moment, and they figured that's what she would need._

_Her lips twitched into an odd smile. "That's...good then. I didn't want her to be involved in this. Neither of us was meant to be here. I'm glad she found her family again."_

"C! Get your ass out from under that piece of crap you and Radar call a car and come 'ere!"

Alex blinked as the raspy voice hit her ears. She rolled out from under a half built car frame and looked up at the fat balding man who had called her out. The memory she had found herself lost in had felt too close for comfort.

"What? Sorry, I was- Hey! It's not a piece of crap!" She hurled, wiping at an itch on her nose and smearing black grease over her face in the process.

The large man raised his bushy gray brow. "I don't know what the 'ell you're talking about, but _that_ is a piece o' crap. Now come on over and 'elp me sort out the paperwork. You're one o' the few 'round 'ere 'oo can count worth a damn, and I'm not gonna let talent like that go to waste over blown fuses and fifty year ol' engines." He turned on his heel and led the way through a swinging door that looked about ready to fall off its hinges in to a small smoky office. There was a desk at the far end that was stacked with papers and wads beyond belief of cash.

"Whether you think it's a piece of crap or not, Radar is teaching me the basics of car maintenance. Something which I find highly interesting, and I'm sure will come in handy at least once in my life." She snubbed, giving the old man a glare.

He held back a chuckle and instead ordered her to wash off her hands before she handled his precious money.

"You're becoming a grease monkey - and that ain't something to be proud of. You're better off workin' in 'ere, the Big Boss will take a better shinning to ya if you can do somethin' useful – and you're keeping Radar from doing 'is job by 'oling 'im up in that piece of junk garage out there."

She sniffed as she sat across from him at the large desk and began piling things into a somewhat organized structure. "It's the only thing that keeps me sane around here. That and going out on pickups. Otherwise we're all stuck in this place, and you know I don't like hanging with the others, all they do is sit around and get pissed while those bitchy strippers grind all over them. And by the way Joe, I can't think with all this damned smoke!"

Joe laughed this time. He couldn't help it. The little girl in front of him who was now spouting off about the rest of the guys who were most likely sitting in the front of the joint, getting their piece of ass, had curled herself into a soft spot in his heart. From the moment her and her buddy boy Wolf had stepped through the threshold of small city crime to the big bad life of the mob, he knew he had found something special.

Wolf was something in his own right though. The name had suited him so well they hadn't bothered inducting him with a new one. All of the boys knew he was a keeper the moment he had unloaded his latest truck of supplies for them. They had taken him in as one of their own in a heartbeat, and he had proved more than once that he deserved their brotherhood. He was fast, quiet, smart as hell, and didn't give a rats ass about how dangerous a job could be. He had finished every single one off without breaking a sweat. Joe knew the Big Boss had already caught wind of him, and was one hundred percent sure that he'd take Wolf under his wing personally.

Cecile was another matter. She had come along under Wolf's arm, shy but stubborn. He had claimed to own her life as he had saved it a few years back when she was working labour for a junkie thug. The guys didn't think much of it, they just figured she was another piece of meat that they could screw around with when they were bored, but Wolf had quickly made it clear that she was his.

_"I said: I own her. She's mine."_

But Joe had seen the glint in her eyes that day, and knew she was made of some tough stuff. He hadn't figured her for much use though until he had made her chew through some of the small finances. She had a knack for it. In her first week under his eyes she had come across some small..._discrepancies_ which had led to the sudden disappearance of one fishy little fellow no one cared to remember. The rest is, as they say, history. She had been working with him on the major bills for the past two months now, and he was more than pleased with her.

"You mad that your dog of a lover boy is out there with one of 'em chickies instead of you?"

Her green eyes glared as she set the papers down. She had already finished that week's count and logged it in the book.

"He's not my...lover boy. I work for him, that's it."

Joe leaned back in his chair and lit a new cigarette, blowing the smoke out towards Alexandra in jest, knowing it would peeve her off.

"Mmm, I don't know. That's what you say and all C, but 'ee certainly makes it clear that 'ee at least _thinks_ you're more than 'is employee. Especially since you've been spending so much time with Radar."

_Yeah well, Tom hasn't done a complete 360 with his personality for this mission. Trowa just scares the hell out of me these days._

"Wolf and I are not doing each other. I don't care if he has a hooker rub her ass in his face, I just don't like hanging around with any of those _boys_ when they're busy with crap like that."

Joe winked at her. "I knew I liked you for a reason kid. Now go on and get the 'ell outta 'ere. I 'ave some big boy stuff I need to do before tomorrow."

He watched as her coverall wearing figure left him in quiet peace and pulled some papers out from a drawer in his desk. One of the pages contained several snapshots of what looked to be an abandoned set of warehouses, but there were small figures dotted here and there. There was a red circle drawn around one of the buildings where most of the figures seemed to congregate. _It_ was approaching fast.

***

The coloured lights reflected dizzyingly around the room. The smoke was so thick one could hardly see who or what was inside of it, but the blaring bass gave way to easy understanding.

Alex rolled her eyes as she passed by the closed door, hearing the shouts and laughter from the men within. She had known beforehand that the extent to which she would like or respect any one member from this group would be minimal, but she hadn't been expecting her most hated feature of the gang to be their lewd behaviour. They were constantly drinking, taking drugs, and worst of all, being all-around sexist pigs. If it hadn't been for Trowa's decision to 'claim her' as his own, she had the disturbing feeling that she would have been 'made' someone else's by now – whether she wanted it or not.

She was still an easy target though, unlike Jennifer who had quickly managed to assert her independence, and her skill: with a gun. Jenny's new name had quickly become Bullet, which was suitable enough since she had put three in the first and last idiot who had tried to get a good time out of her. Alex wondered if she'd even be able to stave off a creep, god forbid she ever got the chance to try.

But as she started going over the simple moves that the recent new men in her life had been teaching her, a voice cut through her thoughts. It was dark and cold and so familiar and unfriendly that she wanted to scream at the bearer to stop being such a good actor.

His green eyes bore into her so fiercely that she thought he might cut her into little bits right there and then.

"Where have you been?"

"... With Joe..." She bit her lip.

Trowa closed the door behind him and stood in front of it menacingly, arms crossed over his broad chest in a very controlling manner.

"Obviously that's not the only place. You have grease all over your face." And he moved towards her so quickly, and brought up his hand like a knife, that she couldn't help but shut her eyes in panic and freeze, rooted in her spot.

A second later they opened again in surprise. The feeling of his hand against her cheek, with his thumb rubbing over her nose gently to clean off the dark stains, was so completely at odds with his demeanour that she was left utterly confused.

He leaned his head down to her level and looked her in the eyes.

"Don't be silly. My act goes as far as my words. I would never hit you." He murmured quietly.

The moment was lost as a smash against the door brought them both back to the reality of darkly lit hallways and boozed up gang bangers.

"Show her whose boss Wolf! Why don't you just do her right now? Give us a show! We wanna see why she's your precious little jewel!" A slurred and rough voice called at them from behind the thin sheet of metal. There were several hoots and hollers, but no one dared come out. Trowa still may have been a newbie, but they had learned quickly enough that he wasn't to be messed with.

His head turned away from the voice and back to 'his' woman.

"Go back to the apartment now. Lock the door." He dropped his hand which had stayed against her skin until then. "I'll knock before I come in."

When she was out of his sight, he sighed before returning to his new found _family_. Having to act as one of them was becoming increasingly tiring, even for him. It was wearing him thin to have to pretend to enjoy their company, the work that he did for them, and to ignore their constant verbal attacks against Alex – and the more than occasional questions about the sexual tricks she must have up her sleeve to have him keep such a tight hold on her.

Before the door had even finished closing, they were on him instantly.

"Wolf man! You gotta give us something one of these days! All this mystery is making us hungry." A thin man with a long face and high cheeks bones yelled, licking his lips and swinging his eighth bottle of beer around in the air.

Trowa suppressed a shudder of anger at the thought of this man's 'hunger' and moved forwards to take a seat at one of the grimy square tables.

"I don't like to share, Comet." Was all he said in reply.

Another man, a very large and bulky one with a buzzed cut of blonde hair, passed Trowa an unopened bottle.

"You better watch out for Comet there Wolf. He's the type to take things that don't belong to him."

"Oh our little Teddy Bear – still mad about that time eh? Well, you shouldn't be. Your sister had a grand ol' time with me. I don't think I've ever heard a bitch moan so lou-" Comet stopped and scrambled away as the man named Teddy lunged at him. He was held back by some others who had been sitting with them, muttering to him that Comet wasn't worth the price he'd pay for his death.

Trowa watched silently as he took a sip of his now open beer. He knew in that moment that Comet was going to be a problem. If he had no quarries about taking Teddy's sister's body as his own, then Alex's relationship with Trowa probably wouldn't deter him at all either.

"Stupid fucking idiot. I swear to God if I could smash his skeevy little head between my hands I would do it no problem." Teddy ran a hand through his short hair and grabbed his bottle of liquor rather fiercely; half of its contents sloshing onto the floor.

"He took her by force." It wasn't a question. Trowa didn't believe Comet would get a woman to sleep with unless it was unwilling on their part – or he paid a grand sum beforehand.

"She hasn't been the same since. He totally messed up her head – she had a future too you know. She was going off to college and everything...now she's in the hospital. Won't tell anyone what happened. But I know it was him."

This was alarming. Trowa was seriously starting to consider keeping Alex physically by his side at all times if this was the danger that threatened her.

However an image of Alex strapped to his back like a baby vanished quickly from his mind as Teddy began calling him back to reality.

"Hey Wolf, we haven't told you about the plan yet have we? I think Joe was thinking about sending you in for this one – stealth operation. You'd be the best for it, and the Big Boss would get a real kick out of a newbie completing something like that."

Trowa was all ears as he leaned in towards the hulking mass of man in front of him.

"The plan?" He asked, raising an eyebrow with a look of slight disinterest – it was best not to seem too eager about any of the information he could get his hands on here, lest they become suspicious.

Teddy gave a curt nod. "Yeah. We've been watching this factory for a while now, a few months at the least... They have something that we've been commissioned to _attain_."

"Commissioned?" His surprise was written on his face for only a second, but Teddy caught it.

"Yeah, we do commissions too – only for good money though. And this, this is good money. That's why Joe wants to send you in, because Big Boss'll be ecstatic if it gets done nice and quick you see?"

Another sip of now warm beer entered Trowa's mouth and he took his time in swallowing it.

"What are we stealing?"

That's when Comet, who had perhaps figured Teddy's earlier bout of rage had simmered down enough that it was safe to wander back over, popped up beside them, a devilishly maniacal grin on his mouth.

"That my friends," He placed his arms around the two men, "is something known as a Hydrogen bomb. Isn't this going to be fun?"

_Fuck it, it was going to be anything but fun._

_***_

New Port City, though generally quite safe for a large and industrious capital, still had its dirt and grime hidden away in the best unnoticeable corners one could find. The black market was alive and well here as it was anywhere else in the world and the colonies; which is why as Alexandra walked briskly 'home' she couldn't help but keep her ears perked for any fishy footsteps.

Aside from passing the occasional creepy gang of men who stared at her longer than they needed to, she made it back safe and sound to her and Trowa's little dinky apartment they had gotten a hold of for the mission. It was cramped, and the lighting sucked so much that there may as well have been none in the first place, but it had a kitchen and a bathroom and one bedroom large enough to house a decently comfortable queen sized bed.

Alexandra had been a bit wary about sharing a bed with Trowa at first, mainly because she liked to take up as much space as possible when she was sleeping. However Trowa had pointed out that if the place was watched, they would need to maintain their facade of a relationship as much as was possible. He usually stayed out in the living/kitchen area during the night going over plans and what not anyway, so it wasn't much of a problem.

She locked the doors automatically as soon as she stepped in, let her coat drop to the floor and took two steps to the kitchen before she screamed.

Trowa was sitting quietly at the table staring up at her intensely as she gaped at him and covered her heart with a hand.

"Holy shit Trowa!" She hissed, glaring down at him before taking a seat and trying to calm herself.

Had he been an intruder, the look he was giving her now would surely have only meant something very, very bad.

She cocked her head to the side and furrowed her brows with worry.

"What's the matter?"

"You didn't pick your coat up from the floor." He said blankly, then his countenance crumbled and he burrowed his face into his hands with a defeated sigh.

"This is never going to end is it? After everything we've done, people just keep wanting to fight."

"Wh...at?" The blonde could only blink at the tall brunette before her as her brain tried to process what he had said.

He didn't reply, just kept his head in his hands as they gripped at his hair, and as she gently placed one of her own over his, she could feel them clenching at the strands with anger.

She then decided very quickly that she'd have to be firm with him now in order to get any answers from him. He needed to be brought back to his world of soldierly order before he vanished into the turmoil of his own emotions – she wasn't sure she'd be able to deal with that. Trowa kept himself so composed and closed off that if ever he let loose, she'd be at a loss of what to do and thought it would probably involve a lot of property damage: physical and mental. And just whose property, she didn't want to find out.

"Trowa... What happened? What's going on?" Her voice was steady calm, and it swayed him from his thoughts until he found himself back at the little dinner table, the white hot rage receding to the corners of his vision until only green orbs reflected in his own emerald eyes.

"Alex..." He suddenly noticed the hand he was holding and stared down at it, perplexed as to how it got there. He looked back up at her and found her giving him a small smile.

"Are you okay? Tell me what happened."

He forgot about her hand as the past few hours came rushing back to him.

"I found out what the big job is that everyone has been muttering about the past few weeks. It won't be going down for a while though, it's going to require a lot of planning to make sure it doesn't get fucked up."

Alex could only blink at his use of the swear, since he only ever spoke like that when he was in his Wolf persona. But she let him continue, sensing he needed to release some pent up emotion.

"And the best part of it all is that I'm going to be a major player in all of this... I can't believe I have to help them get it."

"You don't really believe you're _helping_ them do you? You may be acting for them right now, but it's all for what we call 'the-greater-good'." She tilted her head at him and squeezed his hand.

"They're working this job for another organization."

She sighed and rolled her eyes, "Great, more people to track down. This whole thing is turning into a big game of chase the fox isn't it?"

His expression remained bleak.

"Do you know who they are? Is it big?"

"I don't know who they are, but it is big. They've commissioned us to steal an H-bomb for them."

The colour in Alexandra's face drained so quickly that Trowa wouldn't have been surprised if she had fallen from her chair and burst into a cloud of dust. But her suddenly jumping from her chair and slamming her fists down onto the hard wooden table were not at all expected.

"WHAT!? You've GOT to be fucking KIDDING ME!!!" She swivelled on her heels, picked up her coat and was millimetres from the door before she decided to yell again.

"I'm going to fucking KILL those bastards MYSELF!!!"

But her hand didn't make it to the door knob as Trowa was instantly in front of her, blocking her way. He grabbed her by her shoulders and resisted the urge to shake some sense in to her. Oddly enough, he was also trying to resist the urge the laugh. Obviously the situation was no laughing matter, but her sudden outburst seemed too comical for him to take seriously.

Her fuming stopped as she got a look at his face. His mouth was twitching over to the right and his jaw muscles kept clenching; not to mention there was an odd sparkle in his eyes.

She crinkled her nose up at him, clearly annoyed.

"What the hell are you finding so funny?!" She demanded.

"How'd you know I was finding anything funny?" He was startled that she had been able to read him so easily.

"It's not hard to figure out when you're doing a really bad job at keeping it off your face – this isn't the time to laugh anyway! We need to do something about this! It's a friggin' H-BOMB for God's sake!"

She tried to wriggle from his grasp but he held her steady.

"What exactly do you think you're going to do? Storm in to the club and open fire? We haven't even had a chance to train you on any firearms yet." _A major misstep on my part at that, we should have started that months ago._

There was a sudden thick silence between them before she burst into giggles, prompting a grin from the man before her. Neither of the two had any idea what on earth they were finding so funny, but the laughter was bubbling from them both now as though someone had opened a shaken bottle of pop.

Before long, Alex's stomach muscles were beginning to hurt so she slid down to the floor as ungracefully as possible. Trowa followed suit and stretched his long legs before him, leaning his head back against the door with a light thud.

"Why were we laughing about something so serious? I feel guilty about it now..."

Trowa looked at his mission mate as she sat there tiredly, a rosy glow on her cheeks and heavy lids falling over her eyes.

"It's a defence mechanism. Don't feel bad about it, because if anything, it made us feel _better_ didn't it? Duo always told me laughter was the cure for any ailment. Guess he can be right sometimes."

She chuckled a little at his comment, "Duo's a good guy. I'm surprised how he is actually, compared to the rest of you. Even Quatre loses his casual happiness when he thinks no one's looking... It's sad."

Trowa nodded. "You're right, it is sad." Then he said something he'd had on his mind for years.

"We all had our lives stolen from us, and now it may be too late to get them back."

"But it's not too late to create new ones." She replied matter-of-fact, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. And then he realised it was.


End file.
